Of Monsters and Men

Resolve

Resolve (pg.103)
Resolve measures a character’s self-mastery, courage, and willpower. It indicates grace under pressure and determination, and is key to resisting torture and mindaffecting magic (see page 175). Characters with high Resolve include explorers, adventurers, and spell casters.

Resolve is almost always rolled in response to something, rather than on its own. Primarily a defence against social or magical manipulation, it shines in outof-control situations, allowing a character to keep his head and respond calmly. A high-Resolve character can often soldier on when all seems lost. It’s the mental and social parallel to the physical Endurance.

Resolve also affects a character’s Composure stress track, indicating resilience in the face of mental and social stress. By default, players have 5 Composure stress, but a Resolve higher than Mediocre (+0) gives a bonus.

Resolve

Composure

Average-Fair

+1

Good-Great

+2

Superb -Fantastic

+3

Resolve failure should never remove a character from the player’s control. A bad Resolve roll affects a character’s behaviour, how well or poorly he convinces others he’s unfazed by events. A character exposed to something disconcerting (like a fright) makes a Resolve roll to see how well he “keeps it together”, and may affect
whatever penalties he incurs, but how the character reacts, such as whether they run from the room, is a decision for the player. Decisions are influenced by aspects normally, but skill failure only removes control of the character when he’s taken out. A good way to handle very stressful situations or other crises where keeping your cool is paramount is to use Resolve as a modifier or restriction on the character’s principle skill, like using Endurance to restrict skills when tired.